Frequently Asked Questions

Eating on-campus is easy with an NYU Dining Meal Plan. We have 14 dining locations across campus that conveniently offers a variety of foods and delicious dining options. With a meal plan, you've got food covered, so it’s one less thing you have to worry about. Once you have a meal plan, your student ID works like a debit card. Simply swipe your card and the meal, meal exchange or dining dollars are deducted from your account automatically. There are three components to our meal plans: Meal Allowance, Meal Exchange, and Dining Dollars.

Meal Allowance: Meal Allowance is the number of meals that can be used in all-you-care-to-eat dining locations: Weinstein, 3rd North and Lipton Hall. The cashier will deduct one meal from your plan upon entering these locations. Once inside, you are free to eat as much as you would like. You can also take your Meal 2 Go, by just informing the cashier when you enter the location.

Dining Dollars: Dining Dollars (DDs) are accepted at all dining locations. DDs work like a debit card; each time you make a purchase the total is subtracted from the balance in your account. Each DD is equivalent to one U.S. Dollar. DDs are accepted at all NYU Dining locations.

New York University requires all first-year students living in NYU housing to participate in the NYU Dining meal plan program. All Freshmen living in traditional-style residence halls — Founders, Brittany, Goddard, Lipton, Rubin and
Weinstein — must maintain a minimum of a 225 Flex plan or higher. Freshmen or first-year students living in apartment-style residence buildings must maintain a minimum of a 120 Flex meal plan or higher. Please note all incoming Freshmen are defaulted a 225 Flex meal plan.

Students who live off campus are not required to have a meal plan, but may select any meal plan option. Please visit our homepage for more information regarding NYU Dining Services, including meal plan options and rates.

When a student signs up or changes a meal plan membership after the beginning of a semester, the plan and charges are pro-rated for the remainder of that semester. Charges and refunds for all meal plans (flex plans and Dining Dollars included) are calculated on a daily basis. Charges begin on the activation date, not when the students begin using their plan.

The fall semester has 109 dining days and charges begin on August 27, 2017. The spring semester has 110 dining days and charges begin on January 21, 2018.

For example: If a student purchases a 300 Flex plan on the second week of the fall semester, he or she receives 14/15 of the plan, or 280 meals and 140 Dining Dollars (DD). The student is charged 14/15 — or 93% of the original cost of the plan:
300 meals / 15 weeks = 20 meals per week
20 meals per week * 14 weeks = 280 meals
$150 DD / 15 weeks = $10 DD per week
10 DD per week x 14 weeks= $140 DD

The same principle applies for changes and cancellations. The student pays for the days for which he or she owns the plan — whether used or not — and receives a credit or charge on his/her Bursar’s account based on that change for the remaining days of the semester.

If the Office of Residential Life and Housing Services cancels your meal plan, it will also cancel all meal plan charges for the period following the date the cancellation takes effect. Residents assigned to Brittany, Founders, Goddard, Lipton, Rubin, or Weinstein Hall are required to maintain a meal plan that includes at least 225 Flex meals per semester. Charges and refunds for all meal plans (Flex plans & Dining Dollars included) are pro-rated and calculated on a daily basis each semester. No refunds will be made if you miss meals, fail to obtain a valid ID card, or do not use your meal plan.

Any unused meals expire at the end of each semester. For active meal plan members, unused Dining Dollars carry over from fall to spring semester but expire at the end of the spring semester. The meal plan participant must maintain an active meal plan in the spring semester in order to receive the fall dining dollars

The University does not make exceptions to the mandatory meal plan policy (including religious, dietary, scheduling, medical and economic reasons). In the event you believe you have an extenuating circumstance please contact dining.services@nyu.edu.

A meal plan ensures that all first-year students have access to at least one nutritious meal a day during their first year transition adapting to a busy schedule. Our dining program promotes community building and creates a great first-year experience.

If you have special dietary needs, please contact us at dining.services@nyu.edu. If you are seeking general nutrition information on healthy eating and weight maintenance, you can also meet one-on-one with the Health Promotion Office's Nutrition Health Educator, at no fee. To schedule an appointment, call (212) 443-1236.

You may also consult with our on-staff registered dietitian. To make an appointment to discuss nutritional health or special needs please call:

If you believe you have a medical condition or disability that warrants an exception to the mandatory meal plan policy, you must submit a special accommodations form with supporting documentation to the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities. For forms and additional information go to nyu.edu/csd.

NYU Dining Services offers a variety of meal plans and dining options. We work diligently with students who have food allergies to develop a dining plan that accommodates their needs and provide menus with a variety of food selections. All meals are posted on the dining website at nyudining.com so students can make informed dining decisions.

Many items are prepared to order and in full view to meet the student's specific request. Warning signs are posted in dining halls and food courts reminding patrons of possible cross-contamination during food preparation and cautioning patrons against cross-contamination with utensils, containers, plates and shared food.

Peanut butter and other products carrying nuts will be isolated from other foods to the extent reasonably possible and training about food allergies is provided to the dining staff. Please note that there are limitations to the type of accommodations that NYU Dining Services can provide and strict avoidance may be the only solution to safeguard against food allergens. Please contact dining.services@nyu.edu for more information or to set up an appointment with one of our dining managers or executive chefs.